What is it about beach weddings? Whether they’re in Israel, Florida, or somewhere further afield, we just cannot get enough of them. That blue water, the sound of the waves… throw in a palm tree (or several) and we’re sold.

And oceanside venues don’t get much dreamier than Kochav Hayam, where Milen who works in HR, and Arad, an accountant who also owns a judo club, held their stunner of a Jewish wedding.

From the exquisite sunset ceremony to the magical twinkly lights in the indoor reception hall to the lovely floral chuppah decked out in white flowers and greenery, it’s a seriously beautiful day – captured so exquisitely by Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Herschel Gutman, who worked his photographic magic to capture the most luminous, elegant images.

Videographer Roey Harazy was no slouch either – he surprised the couple with a drone (!) on the day, which he used to capture some absolutely breathtaking footage of the Caesarea coastline.

Milen was the epitome of a radiant bride in her two dresses – one for the ceremony that she custom designed from a simple gown with the help of a seamstress, and the other (for the reception) from Made With Love – and we’re delighted to put you in her capable hands for the rest of the story…

How we met

Milen, the bride: We both graduated from IDC – we met in the cafeteria!

We’re totally in love with today’s literary-themed Jewish wedding. Rachel and Paul took full advantage of their library venue with some super cool touches, like library card save-the-dates (stamped with significant dates in their relationship – awwww!) and a library-style card catalog of place cards instead of a traditional seating chart. Is that the cutest, or what?!

Turns out Rachel, who is pursuing a PhD in art history, and Paul, who works for a marketing software company, are not only adorable, but also clever. They knew they didn’t want to miss out on their fantastic catering, and they also knew that couples often get so busy running around and greeting everyone they don’t get a chance to eat.

So they decided to eat their full dinner meal during their yichud during the cocktail reception, making the most of their special first moments alone as a just-married couple. The best part of all? To protect their wedding clothes from any spills, they opted to wear“His” and “Hers” rain ponchos while eating – you’ve got to check out Grant and Laine Daniels’ photos of this adorable moment.

Oh yeah, and Rachel wore a super cool gown from Kate McDonald, one of our favorite new-to-us finds at New York Bridal Fashion Week earlier this month! We are totally digging the cool damask fabric. Rachel picked out totally awesome (and unexpected) wedding shoes too – you won’t want to miss them! Now over to the bride…

How We Met

Rachel, the bride: We were set up by our close friends who thought we would hit it off, and I guess they were right! That was five years ago, and it was clear we were right for each other right away.

Okay, we’ve got three words for you: Tent. Of. Lights. Yes, Lindsay and Scott’s gorgeous outdoor dance floor at their destination Jewish wedding in Mexico was draped in the most magical tent of twinkly white lights, and we are totally obsessed with it. You don’t want to miss Julieta Amezcua Photography’s epic photos of it after dark.

Not that Flora Farms is by any means shabby during daylight hours. For starters, the pair married in an actual mango grove, aka tropical paradise. Yes, it’s as stunning as it sounds. Plus the unbelievable natural beauty was complemented by the perfect breezy chuppah, with a gauzy white canopy and just a touch of floral accent.

With a super cool letterpress ketubah from Smashing The Glass Recommended Vendor Ketubah.com to round things out, it’s safe to say that this was one stylish wedding. And that’s before we even get to Lindsay’s wonderful A-line dress from Watters – with a flowy tulle skirt and a fun floral design on the bodice, it was the perfect fit for this blissed-out day.

We’ll let the bride take it from here…

Flora Farms

Lindsay, the bride: We were married at Flora Farms in San Jose del Cabo. We fell in love with this venue after visiting, and we knew there was no where else we could see ourselves getting married. The venue truly speaks for itself. The Mango Grove has a large open space, where we had our dance floor surrounded by the DJ stand and tables, with a small barn-area for our bar.

It’s always a good day when we hear from couples who loved used Smashing the Glass to plan their Jewish weddings – like today’s fab couple, Stephanie, an architect, and Darren, a retail director for Aspinal.

We’re so pleased that the bride was a loyal reader of STG in the lead up to her big day, even finding fantastic videographer Velvet Wedding Studio on the blog! He and photographer David Grant Simpson did the absolute best job of capturing the magic of the couple’s enchanted autumnal wedding (over Halloween weekend, no less!).

As an architect, Stephanie was focused on getting married in a beautiful space – and she ended up with not one, but two of them! With the chuppah at the majestic 19th-century Garnethill Synagogue and the evening party at super cool converted church venue Oran Mor, this wedding was basically non-stop architectural splendor.

We love how Stephanie and Darren decided to include a ceilidh in their big day as a way of honoring the bride’s Scottish background and providing some familiarity to balance out the novelty of the Israeli dancing for their non-Jewish guests. Good sport Darren even let Stephanie cajole him into putting on a kilt for the Scottish dancing!

Stephanie, who looked stunning in her Essense of Australia dress, will fill you in on the rest of the fantastic details…

How We Met

Stephanie, the bride: I never ever thought I would try online dating, but as time went on I just realized that it was now the ordinary way to meet someone and gave it a go. We both have stressful jobs, which can make it difficult to find time to date. I still can’t believe that I met my now-husband on Jswipe but I guess that’s modern day romancing for you!

So many people ask me when we knew we wanted to get married. About a month into the relationship after coming in from a night out with, Darren we were laughing about something and then told me he would marry me tomorrow. I know it was a passing comment after I made him laugh, but I guess in the back of our minds we both knew that we wanted to settle down. It sounds odd to many but I think when you meet someone in your thirties you have both already seen the world, been around the block and essentially are in a totally different mindset when you are getting into a relationship. Online dating is literally like modern‐day matchmaking! I guess in a way you could say it was love at first sight, or love at first selfie.

Don’t mind us, we’re busy picking our jaws up off the floor after seeing today’s stunning Jewish wedding portraits in the snow. Almost enough to make you rethink that summer wedding, are we right?!

When Mel, a project manager, and Mitch, who works in IT, first chose Chiko Photography, they were drawn to a photo of his with a couple under an umbrella in the snow. Who would’ve thought they’d get to recreate it themselves?!

This is also a special wedding for us because bride Mel was one of our blogging brides but not only that, Mel was also a founding member of our Club for Jewish Brides, and as such, she and Mitch were the very first couple to ever use our own-brand (and super gorgeous!) smash glass pouch for breaking the glass under their chuppah!

We loved following Mel’s wedding planning journey, and we’re so glad to hear that the feeling was mutual. Mel found several of her amazing wedding vendors through Smashing the Glass, from their incredible videographer, STG Recommended Vendor Denee Motion,to another much loved STG Recommended Vendor XS Showband, best known as pioneers of the wedding flash mob!

XS Showband provided entertainment throughout the day, but we can’t take our eyes off Denee Motion’s fantastic video of Mel and Mitch’s very own musical wedding flash mob, just before their ceremony started. They wanted a special surprise for their guests, something to make sure their day really stood out, and we think this more than did the trick. You’ve got to check it out for yourself!

Do also take a moment to read through Mel’s fabulous account of her planning and prep, there are some really useful tips and a generous helping of super advice at the end. Over to Mel now (and by the way we think she looks SO elegant in her lace fishtail gown by Stella York. . .

How we met

Mel, the bride: We met on JDate in 2013. After chatting for a while we met for a drink. Our second date was an eight-hour lunch! I thought if someone can keep me engrossed in constant conversation for that long without getting bored then I am on to a winner.